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Glite Dictionary
Indo-Germanic

Indo-Germanic

9.8
A large family of languages spoken in Europe and parts of Asia, like English and Hindi
  • adjective
  • /ˌɪndoʊˈdʒɜrmənɪk/
  • Archaic
translation icon : indoeuropeo
  • The Indo-Germanic language family includes many languages spoken across Europe and parts of Asia.

Examples

  • These color-coded social divisions have been revived more recently by Georges Dumezil to bolster his now rather discredited analysis of the social structures of the Indo-Germanic peoples.

    Academic text (1990)

  • According to Kossinna, it was not until the transition to the Bronze Age, when middle European Indo-Germanic tribes seized northern Italy, that the Italians suddenly began participating in central European culture.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Linguists study the grammar and vocabulary of Indo-Germanic languages to understand their historical development.

  • The similarities between Sanskrit and Latin reflect their Indo-Germanic roots in the ancient language family.

Synonyms

Indo-European
vsIndo-Germanic
7.3

Relating to the large family of languages like English and Hindi

is used mainly in historical or linguistic contexts to refer to the language family

Surface Forms

Indo-Germanic positive

Morphology

Indo-Germanic = Germanic (semi-transparent) = Indo + Germanic

The word is built from the recognizable elements 'Indo-' and 'Germanic', but the historical linguistic label is not fully predictable from the parts alone.

Etymology

Indo-Germanic comes from the parts Indo- ('India') and Germanic ('Germany' or the German people). It was a simple way to name a group of languages that stretch from India to Germany, which is why today it refers to a large family of related languages across Europe and parts of Asia.